Simplified Lateral Analysis of Deep Foundation Supported Bridge Bents: Driven Pile Case Studies

Abstract

A simplified approach for modeling soil and foundation system supported bridge bents is applied to three bridges that represent three pile types and three superstructures. This point-of-fixity approach is applied by modeling the bridge bent substructure as an elastic frame. The models are compared with more refined analyses in FB-MultiPier, with SAP as an independent verification tool, using pile sections with nonlinear soil, pile, and pile cap material properties. The results for simple pile bents show that an equivalent frame model provides similar moment, shear, and displacement values as those obtained from both the SAP and MultiPier nonlinear analyses. Analysis results also indicated that the equivalent frame model parameters are particularly sensitive to the comparable selection of both axial and lateral loads. If lateral loads used to develop the equivalent model are higher than experienced, the axial and lateral deflections and moments will also be higher. For design purposes, this is conservative.